Demon Firefly
by Kuramastrass
Summary: Compare your best friend to an animal. Anyone who knows Hiei can tell you what he is most like: the dragon. I decided to challenge myself. I would find another animal to compare Hiei to, one with a more positive connotation. My best friend is my firefly.


**This was just a little one-shot I came up with after writing "Human Firefly". I thought that perhaps Hiei was a bit more like a firefly; he is a fire apparition, after all. **

**And before I post new chapters of anything else, I wanted to put this up, so that it will always be next to Human Firefly.**

**Though I think it's just a tiny bit odd, that I can pair both members of my OTP to a firefly.**

**Maybe it's not my best, but hey. I just couldn't not write it.**

**I don't own YuYu Hakusho, by the way.**

**And I think this was my first time trying to do first-person Kurama... any thoughts?**

**Well, enjoy "Demon Firefly"... review... and read/review its predecessor if you haven't already. I'd like feedback on which is better... Thanks. **

Describe your best friend and compare them to an animal.

There was no doubt that the teacher had meant for this to be an easy writing assignment to transition us swiftly into the year. However, for me, this turned out to be quite the challenge.

Anyone who knows Hiei could tell you what animal – or perhaps creature would be a better term in this case – he is most like: the dragon.

And while I knew that dragons do actually exist, I doubted that my work would be accepted if I compared my best friend to a mythical creature – not to mention that no one would believe that I had a best friend who is telepathic, can nearly fly, can control fire, has a small range of emotions, and is a demon.

As all the similarities between Hiei and dragons came to mind, I realized how negative those associations were. So while I could have chosen anyone else and have easily have completed the assignment, I decided to challenge myself.

I would find another animal to compare Hiei to, one with a more positive connotation.

- -

As everyone presented their comparisons to the class, they started to fall into obviously divided categories. While not all of them followed this pattern, most of them did.

Girls who described best friends who were other girls were compared to delicate and beautiful, seemingly harmless creatures – butterflies, kittens, puppies, and such. Girls whose best friends were boys named animals chose vicious animals, such as lions, tigers, lynxes, and baboons.

Boys who described boys explained how their friend was most similar to animals thought of as "macho": animals that are either fierce or protective, like dogs or rhinoceroses. Boys who had girls as best friends chose animals like foxes and wolves: beautiful but deadly.

I smiled to myself as a girl who had no real friends but talked to me occasionally described me. She didn't refer to me by name, of course, but it was obviously me that she was talking about. In her eyes, I was not a fox, but a horse. She blushed as she read, and I knew why: she was quite fond of horses.

I was the last one to read mine aloud; all eyes were on me as I walked to the front of the room. Everyone expected Shuichi Minamino's assignment to be the best –undoubtedly why the teacher had saved me for last. And they were curious; they wondered what sort of animal I would choose to compare my best friend to.

I smiled shyly at my classmates, glancing briefly at each one in turn, before I spoke.

"I'm not going to refer to him by name, as none of you know him." I chuckled. "And I'm sure he would prefer none of you know his name."

They all nodded absentmindedly, and I smiled again, beginning my presentation.

- -

_My best friend is, to be quite honest, short. Though he hates being called anything that implies he is short, there's no denying it. And not only is he short; everything about him is small, slender, delicate. He's almost… fragile._

_My friend doesn't like bright colors, and he refuses to wear anything but black. He enjoys the nighttime; you almost never see him during the day, but he's always out during the night, somewhere underneath the stars._

_For his size, he's incredibly fast… and he tends to be hard to find when you need him._

_And though I've known him for years, there always seems to be something he's hiding, something I don't quite know._

_There's an unreal beauty to him; he's graceful as well as quick. In his way, he's beautiful. And, although he feels that it is the anti-thesis of everything he is and stands for, he brings light to my life._

- -

As I spoke, I became increasingly aware that the person I was describing was close, no doubt in the branches of a nearby tree, listening to my voice. I smiled to myself as I said the last line, knowing that Hiei could hear every word of it.

"In conclusion, my best friend is my firefly."

- Kuramastrass -


End file.
